The Marine's name is being withheld pending notification of family. In other news, Iraqi army and Task Force Baghdad soldiers conducted operations Dec. 14 in western Baghdad geared toward creating a secure environment for free elections in the area. Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, questioned a driver who was behaving suspiciously near a traffic control point in the Abu Ghraib area. The man failed to answer basic questions and provided conflicting information.

A thorough search of the man's house revealed items typically used by terrorists to attack Iraqi security forces, Iraqi civilians and coalition forces. The soldiers discovered two AK-47 assault rifles, a pistol, a video camera, 30 AK-47 magazines with ammunition, a magazine of 7.62 mm rounds, five sets of body armor vests, a book listing names of Iraqi army soldiers, and various terrorist propaganda materials. Soldiers detained the suspect.

A few hours later, soldiers from 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division's Brigade Special Troops Battalion patrolling in Abu Ghraib discovered an improvised explosive device made from a 30 mm artillery round wired to detonate with a two-way radio. An explosives team destroyed the bomb.

Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry, also captured a suspected terrorist financier near the Khadra neighborhood. One associate was also detained for questioning.

In Balad, Iraqi soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, were tipped off Dec. 14 to the location of a bomb on a secondary road leading to a polling site.

The bomb was buried in the northbound lane and consisted of a propane tank with 50 pounds of plastic explosives and rocket propellant. An explosives team responded to the site and was about 200 meters south of the bomb when it detonated.

Troops from the 1st Brigade, 1st Battalion, 4th Iraqi Army Division, detained two suspects Dec. 14 after finding four mortar rounds during a vehicle search north of Dawr.

As part of Operation Vanguard Free Speech, soldiers assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, detained 14 suspected terrorists and confiscated a large number of weapons, munitions and money Dec. 14.

U.S. Navy F/A-18s provided close-air support to coalition troops in contact with insurgents near Balad. The F/A-18s expended precision-guided munitions with successful effects against enemy firing positions. U.S. Air Force F-16s and U.S. Navy F-14s provided close-air support to coalition troops in contact with insurgents near Baquba and Ramadi. Sixteen U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and Royal Australian Air Force intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft flew missions supporting Iraq operations. British Royal Air Force fighter aircraft also performed in a nontraditional ISR role with their electro-optical and infrared sensors.